TLVGAJ 73

~Chapter 73~

“Why isn’t it coming…?”

I was anxiously waiting for Sin-Soo to return.

It seemed like the chick had been gone for quite some time searching for the wild boar, and it was taking longer than I expected.

As the waiting time stretched on, I became more impatient.

Isn’t Sin-Soo supposed to be able to find and heal it quickly?

‘Albert must have already encountered the boar by now…!’

What if something happens to Albert…!

He probably won’t die, but…!

Even if he gets hurt, it’s not really my fault, but still…!

‘If I don’t stop this, my conscience will get the better of me…!’

Honestly, I’d learned something from reading romance fantasy novels in my previous life.

It was almost like an obligation to save characters in danger, right?

If this were a novel, the readers would be furious, thinking this is such a frustrating situation!

Just then, the area where the knights were standing became noisy.

Some of the knights began to murmur and hurriedly rode their horses toward the forest.

‘What’s going on? Did something happen to Albert?’

My heart sank. I bit my lip and watched the scene unfold.

[I’m back. Ahem.]

I heard a voice. Looking beside me, Sin-Soo was sitting on my shoulder, as if just returning.

I whispered quietly.

“Did you do well? Why did it take so long? Did you heal the boar?”

[Yeah.]

“But why are the knights…”

As I was about to turn to look at the knights, I suddenly caught sight of something that made me freeze.

Albert was coming out of the forest, supported by knights on both sides.

Sin-Soo said indifferently.

[When I got there, he was already a little hurt. Maybe I should have healed him more before I left.]

“….”

I looked at Albert without responding.

What Sin-Soo said wasn’t wrong, and fortunately, it didn’t seem like he was badly hurt… but still, I was worried.

Albert was surrounded by the medical staff and knights, receiving emergency treatment for a while.

The murmurs among the people grew louder.

Soon, Albert came out, with a splint on his leg, carefully moving between the people.

He was limping a bit, but it seemed like he wasn’t hurt badly enough to need a wheelchair.

‘Thank goodness. He’s only injured like that…’

Normally, he would have been carried out unconscious by now.

I was finally relieved, but Albert started looking around, searching for something.

When he met my eyes, he began walking toward me.

“Irene.”

“…Albert.”

I was surprised by Albert suddenly walking toward me.

“Are you okay…? It looks like you got hurt during the tournament.”

“I just lost my balance and fell from a rock for a moment.”

Albert smiled as if saying it wasn’t a big deal.

It was then that Albert’s gaze shifted to the chick sitting on my shoulder.

…What’s this? Why does this feel weird?

I looked at him, tilting my head, when Albert suddenly stepped closer to me.

Oh no. Why is he so close?

I got startled and instinctively stepped back one step.

It was then I saw something in his hand.

“….”

It was a handkerchief.

‘Ah, right. After the hunting tournament, it’s a tradition to give the handkerchief back to the lady you’re interested in.’

Everyone knew what giving a handkerchief meant, so all eyes around us turned to me.

Albert slowly opened his mouth, meeting my gaze.

“Thank you, Irene. Because of you…”

“….”

“Because of you, I’m alive.”

I furrowed my eyebrows.

The way Albert was looking at the chick and speaking…

I turned my head to look at Sin-Soo.

Sin-Soo, who had been scratching its fur with its claws, tilted its head.

I heard Sin-Soo’s voice in my head.

[Why? Shouldn’t the saint know how much grace she’s giving him?]

…Sigh. I sighed deeply.

“Oppa!”

After the hunting tournament officially ended, Princess Alicia rushed toward Albert with a very worried expression.

Albert, who had been deep in thought with a serious face even after the tournament, turned his head toward his sister.

“Alicia.”

“Oppa, are you okay? I heard you got hurt. What happened? Huh?”

“Stop making a fuss. I’m fine.”

Albert smiled as he answered.

His previously tense expression seemed to vanish, and his tone toward his only sister was filled with warmth.

“Suddenly, a wild boar appeared… But thankfully, I was able to survive because someone helped me.”

“Huh? Someone helped you? Who helped you?”

Alicia tilted her head and asked, but Albert only smiled and didn’t answer.

His expression stiffened again.

While it was a miracle that Irene helped him survive, the real issue was what had happened before the wild boar appeared.

His gaze shifted to his three half-brothers, who were cleaning up after the tournament, looking very dissatisfied.

Albert pressed the vivid memories of them deep into his mind.

He didn’t know why Irene had a creature that seemed to be Sin-Soo, nor why she suddenly decided to help him.

But that could wait for later.

For now, he was planning to make them pay for trying to target him like this.

Later in Cedric’s Office

“Albert, this bastard!”

Bang!

A man slammed his desk. In front of him lay a small order.

Cedric von Heshelt is permanently excluded from the national council.

He had been attending the council even after Albert became the crown prince.

Now, excluding him from the council meant that he was completely turning into a political enemy, and he would no longer be allowed to give any opinions related to national matters.

“Is there nothing that can be done about this? Is it okay to do this without His Majesty’s approval?”

“Legally… yes. His Highness the Crown Prince has the authority… so refusal is not possible. And it’s likely that His Majesty has already approved it.”

“…I told you not to call Albert that bastard in front of me.”

“I-I’m sorry…!”

Cedric glared at his subordinate, who trembled and lowered his head.

Sighing deeply, Cedric exhaled.

After becoming the crown prince, such situations often happened to deal with political rivals, so people would probably think Albert was just being cautious.

But Cedric understood why Albert had made this decision.

He clenched his fist.

How could this happen? He thought his plan was perfect.

Unless the magic he used on the wild boar was undone, Albert should not have come back unharmed.

Or maybe he had been helped by one of the other participants by coincidence.

But that didn’t seem to be the case…

“Jamie and Freddie received the same order…”

“Brother!”

Just as Cedric was about to ask his subordinate, Jamie suddenly burst into the room, shouting loudly.

Freddie quietly entered behind him.

“Brother, did you get the order too? This is insane, isn’t it?”

Jamie said, sounding highly agitated.

“We were so obvious about it, but to be labeled enemies like this all of a sudden?”

“…”

“No matter how I think about it, this isn’t right. I’m going to the Crown Prince’s palace…”

“Don’t get worked up. It won’t do any good.”

Cedric calmed Jamie down. Jamie, still young and hot-headed, often acted rashly.

However…

Cedric was deep in thought. He couldn’t just sit still and do nothing…

Then, it was Freddie, who had been listening quietly, that spoke up.

“Let’s find that wild boar from the hunting tournament.”

“…The wild boar?”

Freddie nodded.

“We should find the boar and check what happened that day.”

“…!”

A faint gleam appeared in Cedric’s eyes.

It was a good idea. At least it was better than doing nothing.